Effect of heterospecifics on foraging of endangered red-crowned and white-naped cranes in the Korean Demilitarized Zone

We determined how the presence of heterospecific individuals in the vicinity of a focal individual affects the behavior of two critically endangered species of cranes on their wintering grounds at Cheolwon in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The red-crowned crane, Grus japonensis, is larger than the white-naped crane, Grus vipio, and it dominates the white-naped crane in aggressive interactions. We showed that the dominant species increases foraging activity in the presence of the subordinate species presumably because of scrounging of food from the subordinate. Because interspecific interactions may affect avian endangerments these behavioral findings should be taken into account when managing winter refuges for the two endangered crane species.     

How dung beetles respond to a human‐modified variegated landscape in Mexican cloud forest: a study of biodiversity integrating ecological and biogeographical perspectives

Aim To analyse how the dung beetles (Scarabaeinae) respond to a modified, variegated landscape, taking into account the biogeographical peculiarities of the Mexican Transition Zone. Location This study covers cloud forest (CF) of the Sierra Norte de Puebla mountain range and part of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range (Mexico). Methods We applied proportional sampling based on the landscape variegation model with Scarabaeinae as the indicator group, and using two approaches: structural units (vegetation type) and spatial units (windows). We used two measures – richness and Shannon diversity – and applied multiplicative diversity partitioning to obtain independent alpha and beta diversities for the landscape, windows and vegetation types. We grouped species by biogeographical distribution pattern for the biogeographical analysis and by whether they were originally from CF. Results The transformation of CF into secondary forest, pastures and other types of vegetation increases the Scarabaeinae diversity of the landscape, in vegetation types and windows. This increase is the result of species arriving from the tropical lowlands. However, the original dung beetle community of the CF dominates at different scales in the number of species, abundance and biomass. With increasing habitat modification, beta diversity increases in the windows, and species with the Tropical Palaeoamerican distribution pattern increase in abundance in vegetation types and windows. Main conclusions The variegated character of the landscape explains well the distribution and diversity of this dung beetle community. The peculiar characteristics of the Mexican Transition Zone have an effect owing to the overlap of fauna with different biogeographical origins. The conversion of fragmented landscapes to variegated landscapes could be a conservation goal in human‐modified mountain landscapes. Sampling proportional to the area of different types of vegetation and the use of windows offer an alternative experimental design in variegated landscapes.     

Synchronous peaks in trap catches of malaria-infected mosquito species at Daeseongdong, a border village between North and South Korea

Malaria continues to be a major health threat near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea. Adult mosquitoes were collected from 20 July through 21 October, 2010 at Daeseongdong, a small village within the DMZ. Molecular techniques were used to identify Anopheles to species and for detection of Plasmodium vivax sporozoites in their head and thorax. Trap catches showed concordant peaks of Anopheles belenrae and An. kleini early in the study period and concordant peaks of An. pullus and An. sinensis later in the season. Three well defined peaks of the 107 sporozoite positive mosquitoes were observed: 34.6% were An. kleini, 23.4% were An. belenrae, 21.5% were An. sinensis, 19.6% were An. pullus, and 0.9% were An. lesteri. Estimation of the extrinsic incubation period from daily temperatures did not help identify preceding biting peaks of An. pullus and An. sinensis, when infection should have been acquired. We explore possible reasons for the sudden appearance and disappearance of sporozoite-infected mosquitoes, including the influx of infected mosquitoes from adjoining areas, and weather patterns. Regular surveillance for infected mosquitoes near border areas of the Republic of Korea may provide advance warning of increased malaria risk potential.     

Réflexions sur l’Acheuléen d’Anatolie

The Anatolia occupies one of the main routes for the dispersal of Homo erectus into the Eurasia. The Acheulean bifaces found on each region of Anatolia are the most important evidences of this situation. This vast distribution of the Acheulean bifaces in Anatolia indicates that all of the Anatolia should stay in the Movius Line. This means that the Movius Line should be reexaminate. Recently, the fossil remains of Homo erectus found in Dmanisi (Georgia) and their very old dates around 1.8 million years put forward the importance of Anatolia one more time. Homo erectus who came in Anatolia by following the Levant Corridor might used the Anatolian bridge for passing to the Transcaucasia. If the well-preserved cave site on the line that expands from Hatay to Kars in Anatolia founds and excavates, it will prove additional information some problems about the Homo erectus movements and distribution of Acheulean Industrial Tradition in West Asia. This paper reviews the evidence for the Acheulean in Anatolia and discusses the distribution of Acheulean bifaces in Anatolia, generally found in open air site.     

Faunal turnovers and trilobite morphologies in the upper Cambrian Leptoplastus Zone at Andrarum, southern Sweden

The Furongian (upper Cambrian) Leptoplastus Zone marks a time of critical changes in the evolution of olenid trilobites. This zone, unexposed at Andrarum in Skåne, southern Sweden, has been re-excavated and the sequence of faunas and sediments logged in detail. The faunal succession accords with that previously described from borehole cores by Westergård, and the subzones of L. paucisegmentatus, L. raphidophorus, L. crassicornis, L. ovatus, L. angustatus, and L. stenotus have been recognized. In the first two subzones the olenid assemblages are monospecific. At the base of the L. crassicornis Subzone more than one species is present and morphotypes with long genal spines appear for the first time. Faunal turnover is rapid, but the incoming of new species is invariably linked to an abrupt change in sedimentation, or follows an unfossiliferous interval; species either arose or migrated in after a time of environmental perturbation. Particular faunal associations are often confined to discrete sedimentary packages though some species may range through a succession of sedimentary changes. Leptoplastus crassicornis has very long genal spines, adapted for resting on the sea floor; it may have competed with the coeval, and very similar, L. angustatus. Subsequently, L. angustatus is accompanied by the stout-bodied, short-spined L. ovatus, which presumably occupied a different niche within the same environment. Leptoplastus stenotus is convergent on the much earlier L. paucisegmentatus, and likewise is found as a monospecific assemblage, presumably being adapted to a similar niche.     

Geographical distributions of rhytismataceous fungi on Camellia japonica leaf litter in Japan

Rhytismataceous fungi (Ascomycota) exhibit ligninolytic activities during the initial stages of litter decomposition. We quantitatively investigated the geographical distributions of rhytismataceous fungi on Camellia japonica leaf litter across Japan. We found three rhytismataceous species (Coccomyces sp., Lophodermium jiangnanense, and a Rhytismataceae sp.) on bleached leaves of C. japonica. The Coccomyces sp. was distributed at all 40 sites investigated. On the other hand, L. jiangnanense was restricted to the southwestern region, and the Rhytismataceae sp. was localized to part of the warm-temperate zone. L. jiangnanense and the Rhytismataceae sp. were more common at sites with higher annual temperatures and greater precipitation. The relative abundance of rhytismataceous fungi revealed that either Coccomyces sp. or L. jiangnanense predominated at all sites, with a distribution related to annual precipitation. These results suggest that the geographical distributions and abundances of rhytismataceous fungi are influenced by climatic conditions.     

Species turnover and diversity patterns along an evergreen broad-leaved forest coenocline

Direct gradient analysis was applied to the evergreen broad-leaved forest coenocline in the Tatera Forest Reserve, Japan. 10 quadrats of 0.1 -0.05 ha were laid out from 140 m to 560 m above sea level at intervals of 25–70 m. Gradient analysis revealed that distributions of many species terminated or started at ca. 400 m. Community similarity, calculated in Percentage Similarity (PS) and Community Coefficient (CC), changed abruptly below and above the 400 m contour, suggesting a change of vegetation structure at this altitude, which was also clear from population distributions. The spatial turnover rate of species along the altitudinal gradient was calculated in two ways: as the Average turnover rate along the whole range of the gradient, and as the Zone turnover rate at individual altitudes. The overall rates calculated for five categories of populations: DBH > 10 cm, DBH >3 cm, all woody species, herb-layer, and total vegetation, were- 0.0011 to- 0.0021 for PS, and - 0.0009 to- 0.0019 for CC. The calculated rates (PS basis) indicate that a 95% change in species composition is reached at 1120 to 620 m altitude. Similarly, the rates -0.0009 to - 0.0019 (CC) correspond to 1410 - 680 m. The altitudinal range expected here for a 95% change agrees with the actual elevation of forest zonation in northwestern Kyushu. The average rate of both PS and CC in the herb-layer population was 1.56 times higher than the rate in the woody species population, showing a more rapid change in herb-layer population than in the woody ones along the gradient. The Zone turnover rates were higher at the 370–440 m belt than those below and above the belt. This coincided with the interchanging pattern in population distributions and the abrupt change in similarity at about 400 m above sea level. This may be due to the change in environmental conditions such as physiography and air humidity. In the diversity measurements, the species density per 100 m² showed a gradual increase in the DBH >3 cm population but a constant level in the DBH >10 cm population along the whole range of the forest coenocline studied, while index values of S₍₁₀₀₎ and Shannon's H showed decreasing trends in the same gradient with a few exceptionally high and low values.     

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A new Reynesocoeloceras, R. praeincertum, hasbeen found in the Portuguese Middle Carixian (Luridum sub-zone); it is very primitive for the genus. This species keeps some strong affinities with the latest Metaderoceras (gr. venarense and gr. evolutum).R. praeincertum displays a progressive transition between Metaderoceras and Reynesocoeloceras.